Roberts Says U.S. Judiciary Should Be Spared From Spending Cuts

Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Chief Justice John Roberts said the
U.S. judiciary should be spared as lawmakers and President
Barack Obama look to hammer out a plan to cut federal spending.

Roberts, issuing his annual year-end report, said the
federal courts have already cut costs by hundreds of millions of
dollars under a plan the judiciary put in place in 2005. Those
steps leave little room for the courts to absorb additional
cuts, he said.

“Because the judiciary has already pursued cost-containment so aggressively, it will become increasingly
difficult to economize further without reducing the quality of
judicial services,” Roberts wrote.

Roberts said a “significant and prolonged shortfall in
judicial funding would inevitably result in the delay or denial
of justice for the people the courts serve.” In fiscal year
2012, which ended on Sept. 30, the courts were allocated $6.97
billion.

Roberts, now in his eighth year on the Supreme Court,
reiterated his call for the other two branches of government to
move more quickly in filling vacancies on the bench. He pointed
to 27 slots that have been designated as “judicial
emergencies.”

“I urge the executive and legislative branches to act
diligently in nominating and confirming highly qualified
candidates to fill those vacancies,” Roberts wrote.